During this search, they began looking for those that knew the victim, and were able to quickly link this case to the missing 13-year old that had disappeared less than a week beforehand. james liston pressly; Tags . It's very possible that he had nothing to do with the Freeway Phantom crimes, but his name is one I haven't seen mentioned before, and thought it worth bringing up. Post author: Post published: January 24, 2023 Post category: what channel is nbc on directv in arizona Post comments: ae funeral services shawnee ok ae funeral services shawnee ok After the 1978 rape charge, Askins' home was searched by police in connection with the Freeway Phantom murders. Upon his arrest, Askins declared to police that he was a "woman hater" and was placed under mental observation at Washington, D.C.'s Gallinger Hospital. They were giving the Freeway Phantom credit for six murders: those of Carol Spinks, Darlenia Johnson, Brenda Crockett, Nenomoshia Yates, Brenda Woodard, and now Diane Williams (in that order). Post author: Post published: January 28, 2023 Post category: kennings for tree kennings for tree [9] As with the other cases, her shoes were missing and unidentified green fibers would also be found on her clothing. Due to the brutality of the crimes the police suspected the offender to be a psychopath. Darlenia Denise Johnson was a 16-year old girl that lived in Congress Heights - the same neighborhood that Carol Spinks and her family had been living in. As you can guess, this early nickname would stick and soon, the killer himself seemed to embrace it. Some leads were easily proven not to be viable, while others required substantial investigation. They didn't even get out of the car to look for the remains, before using their radio to call in "10-8" (aka "nothing to see here"). Police investigators initially linked a total of seven slayings, including that of Barnes, to the same killer. The investigators that were handling the case at the time would continue to believe that the Green Vega's were responsible for the Freeway Phantom murders - many of them, until the day they died. On December 28, 1938, Askinsthen a 19-year-old student and member of the science club at Miner Teachers Collegeserved cyanide-laced whiskey to five prostitutes at a brothel, resulting in the death of 31-year-old Ruth McDonald. The investigation was conducted by a law enforcement task force that included Detectives from the MPDC Homicide and Sex Squads, investigators from Prince George's County and Montgomery County, Maryland,Maryland State Police, and theFederal Bureau of Investigation(FBI). Their mother, Allenteen - a strict disciplinarian - was heading out to visit a nearby relative. Carolyn Spinks Morris - the identical twin sister of Carol Spinks, the first victim - recalls the day that her family learned of Carol's murder. As a result, the Freeway Phantom case files are now incomplete - some have been discarded entirely and others are incomplete with pages or articles of evidence having been lost, along with their associated notes, and all the primary or task force investigators have either long retired, or are deceased. All suspects are charged with state drug offenses and were cited and released with future dates to appear in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Courts across the state. She read the case notes and offered insight whenever possible, but that was really all she could do. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as: names, dates, place of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships. FREEWAY PHANTOM' VICTIMS Carol Denise Spinks May 1, 1971 Nenomoshia Yates October 1, 1971 Teara Ann Bryant November 26, 1972 Diane Williams September 6, 1972 Brenda Denise Woodard November 16, 1971 Darlenia Denise Johnson July 19, 1971 Brenda Fay Crockett July 28, 1971 CAPTION: Teara Ann Bryant CAPTION: Brenda Denise Woodard CAPTION: Carol Denise Spinks CAPTION: Nenomoshia Yates CAPTION: Diane Williams CAPTION: Brenda Fay Crockett CAPTION: Darlenia Denise Johnson. He ultimately let the victim go without harming her any further, and the incident was reported to police. This was beyond the date of the known killer's crime spree, and was ruled out as a possible connection due to a lack of evidence, but remains a real possibility. Another exception of the modus operandi was the body of 14-year-old Angela Denise Barnes; her bullet-riddled body was found on an abandoned Maryland road in 1971. Brenda Denise Woodard, whose body still had the shoes worn. The FBI had begun assisting in the investigation following the fourth murder - that of Nenomoshia Yates - when it became clear that this was a repeat offender targeting multiple young victims. Former Washington police officers, Edward Sullivan and Tommie Simmons, were convicted of murdering Angela Denise Barnes, age 14. Authorities could never conclusively link Edward and Tommie with the other killings and mark them as the Phantom Freeway killer. They may be living somewhere else, doing it again. Why do they think the person was black? This is tantamount to my insensitivity to people, especially women. A privilege that the family members of the Freeway Phantom victims have been waiting for for close to half-a-century. "From that moment on, our lives were never the same," said Williams, 40, who is a police officer. Modus Operandi Despite happening just a few years after the Freeway Phantom murders, the case of the Lyon sisters was worked on constantly over the years, and everything regarding the case was well-documented and preserved a far cry from the haphazard way the Freeway Phantom crime spree was investigated. Warning: set_time_limit() has been disabled for security reasons in /data/web/virtuals/167612/virtual/www/index.php on line 63 The other, which Detective Romaine Jenkins believes might be related, was the murder of Teara Ann Bryant, who was killed in November of 1972 - two months after the last known Freeway Phantom murder. He would probably be masked and not want to show his victims his face. While she remains hopeful the killings eventually will be solved, Jenkins believes the passage of time already has diminished the chances of closing the case. Follows the Sullivan family during the Second World War. Tommy Musgrove joined the MPDC in 1972, and eventually climbed up the ranks enough to head the entire homicide unit. However, with her body being found not too far away, just eight hours after her abduction, we can reasonably surmise that wasn't the case. Now, she continues to ponder over the case, which still haunts her. County, Maryland. Some had been sexually assaulted, and some of whom were found with very little evidence for investigators to chew over. [19] All these leads were investigated to their logical conclusion. Here was a lead, that was as promising as any thus far, which had now evaporated into nothing. Despite their differences in beliefs regarding this case, Trainum and Jenkins agree on a number of things regarding the Freeway Phantom. Ph: (781) 272-0050 Bryant, of Maryland, was the only victim not from the District. However, it's end was just as tragic as the first two abductions. All of this created a lot of animosity towards the local police department - the MPDC - who hired almost exclusively white officers. 7 The Alphabet Killer Photo Credit: calafellvalo / Flickr Like the case of Dr. The FBI profile of the Phantom Killer stated that the killer would likely: - Have at least a high school education, with either "average or above-average intelligence", - Be a charming young man, who often struggled to maintain healthy relationships, - Likely lived alone or with an older woman (creating some kind of resentment towards females), - Having known the neighborhood that he committed his crimes in. In 1971, Carol Denise Spinks was a thirteen-year old that lived in Washington, DC. She was heading home from a friend's home late at-night, in the middle of the summer, and her body was discovered the following morning, out in Waldorf, Maryland. In her teenage years, as a result of her sister and best friend's tragic death, she ended up turning to drugs as an escape - a rabbit hole she would struggle to escape over several years of her life. Upon this third - and final - submission, the custody of this evidence became a matter-of-debate. Coroner reports of the Freeway Phantom's victims tell us that the victims were brutally raped with penetration up to 9 inches deep, with both anal and vaginal assaults taking place. Despite being unable to determine the official cause-of-death, the coroner would later state that there was evidence of strangulation, which was loosely applied to the case of the murdered Darlenia Johnson. Now, the victim was found just hours after going missing. They would be called back later on, but by that time, the case had grown stagnant. Patricia Williams sat at a table near a window in a restaurant in Northwest Washington this week, her hands clasped. Among those individuals considered suspects were members of a gang known as the Green Vega Rapists. It's even possible to imply that Brenda's last words in the phone call - the reflexive "I'll see you" comment - were indicative of her being close to home. Her body was discovered behind St. Elizabeths Hospital on a grassy embankment next to the northbound lanes of I-295, about 1,500 feet south of Suitland Parkway. Brenda Denise Woodard was an 18-year old, that lived with her family in Baltimore, Maryland, along Maryland Avenue. The body was too severely decomposed by the time officials got to it, and medical examiners would be unable to determine if the victim had been sexually assaulted before her death. Their apathy would be noted on at least one more occasion. Robert Askins would be sent to St. Elizabeth's Hospital shortly thereafter, until he was mentally fit enough to stand trial. Seven young black girls were mysteriously slain in the national capital by a killer known as the Freeway Phantom. Extensive manhunts were conducted in search of the mysterious assailant since the discovery of the probable first victim of the serial killer. Unfortunately, their questions regarding her fate would be answered less than a week later. Carol, who knew that she was risking punishment if it was discovered she had left the family's apartment, walked briskly along Wheeler Road. A 17-year-old Ballou High School senior, Williams cooked dinner for her family and then visited her boyfriend's house. Signature The police solved Angelas killing after they arrested two individuals named Edward Leon Sullivan and Tommie Bernard Simmons. They operated in Washington, D.C., between April 1971 and September 1972 and claimed at least six victims. It was believed that these had come from a vehicle or a carpet/rug of some kind, but would provide police a very minuscule lead as the investigation began to stretch out over several weeks. They had cataloged the evidence, and kept it all in-storage. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, Jenkins joined the Washington D.C. police force. The case was investigating primarily by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia - more commonly abbreviated as the MPDC. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Shortly after leaving the store, another kid from the neighborhood saw her walking back home, with a bag of groceries in her hands. Before her death, it appeared that the victim had been brutalized, having been hit in the face more than once. Eventually, the FBI would enter the fray once again in 1974. The Freeway Phantom is a self imposed nickname for an unidentified serial killer who was active in Washington, D.C. from April 1971 through September 1972. Likely, the inmate he was implicated in the Freeway Phantom murders. This leads us to the events of October 1st, 1971. Unknown. He drove her to a secluded area, where she was then sexually assaulted. However, by the time the 1980's had rolled around, the case was still unsolved. It's the story of six black girls, who were all abducted and brutally murdered over the span of a year-and-a-half. A store clerk would later recognize the girl from photographs, and state she had purchased the items that evening, just after 7:00 PM. When she failed to return home in a timely manner, her mother called the police and was able to file a missing persons report that night. The Ultimate Weapon: The Race to Develop the Atomic Bomb. She felt responsible for the brutal murder of her little sister, and in return, would often end up walking the same route that Carol had simply hoping to be approached by the same mysterious man that had taken her sister. wheN you cAtch me iF you cAn! [13], The Freeway Phantom case has seen a myriad of investigators and garnered much interest over the years. Now, on the other side of town, another child found themselves walking along the side of the road as evening approached. Despite more than 25 D.C. police officer being handed over to the investigative effort at one point, this sentiment is shared by at least one high-ranking police officer - who worked for the department at the time of the murders. A short distance down the road, he was able to flag down a police officer, who reported the scene. They made appearances at public events, and tried to keep up with the investigation, hoping to bolster one another and present a brave face. 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